Its incorporation as a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church hereditary in the House of Farnese and its heirs, the Bourbons, dates from the transfer to Francesco Farnese on 11 January 1698, an act confirmed in an imperial diploma, "Agnoscimus et notum facimus", of the emperor, Leopold I, dated 5 August 1699, and the apostolic brief, "Sincerae Fidei", issued by Pope Innocent XII on 24 October 1699. These confirmed the succession of the grand magistry to the Farnese family and its heirs as an ecclesiastical office and, crucially, did not tie it to tenure of sovereignty of the Duchy of Parma. Among the first major acts of the Farnese grand magistry were revised, amended and expanded statutes, issued on 25 May 1705 and confirmed in a papal brief dated 12 July 1706; both these confirmed the requirement that the grand magistry should pass by male primogeniture. Following the order's contribution to Prince Eugene of Savoy's campaign to drive the Turks from the Balkans between 1716 and 1718, Pope Clement XI, a former cardinal protector of the order, confirmed the order as a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in the bull, "Militantis Ecclesiae", of 27 May 1718.

With the death of the last male of the House of Farnese on 30 January 1731, the grand magistry was inherited by Charles, Duke of Parma (later King Charles III of Spain), eldest son of King Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth of Parma; Charles also inherited the duchies of Parma and Piacenza from the Farnese. After becoming king of Naples and Sicily in 1734, Charles was forced to surrender Parma to Austria in 1736 while retaining the Constantinian grand magistry. On 16 October 1759, Charles III abdicated the grand magistry to his second surviving son, King Ferdinand IV and III of Naples and Sicily (from 1815 Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies). The administration of the order was transferred from Parma to Naples in 1768.

The succession of Ferdinand I as grand master was resented by some of the Parmesan nobility but when in 1748, Charles III's younger brother Philip succeeded as duke of Parma, he explicitly recognised his brother Charles and later his nephew Ferdinand as Grand Master in a series of decrees and official acts. Philip's son Ferdinand, after his succession as Duke of Parma, sent an emissary to the Spanish court to try and persuade the King of Spain to intervene with the King of Naples and Sicily and persuade him to give up the Grand Mastership, but without success. The Parmesan Constantinian Order was a new foundation, instituted by Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma in 1817 and following her death the Duke of Lucca, heir to the Bourbon-Parma succession, became Duke of Parma under the terms of the Congress of Vienna and assumed the grand mastership which is today claimed by Carlos, Duke of Parma. See the historical note authored by Paolo Conforte, a senior officer of the Parma dynastic order, who maintains that the Parma Order, despite its late foundation, is the successor of the original Order; this view was explicitly rejected by the Holy See in 1860 and in 1913 the Holy See did not respond to a request from the Parma ducal family to accord their Order similar privileges to those granted to the Order of which Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta was Grand Master. The view of the Bourbon-Sicily family is that the grand magistry was never united with the Two Sicilies Crown, but remained, in the words of Charles III 's son and successor, Ferdinand I, in a decree of 8 March 1796 "In his (the King's) royal person there exists together two very distinct qualities, the one of Monarch of the Two Sicilies, and the other of Grand Master of the illustrious, royal and military Constantinian order, which though united gloriously in the same person form nonetheless at the same time two separate independent Lordships". It was this independence that enabled the order, whose grand magistry was held as a separate dignity to the headship of the house of the Two Sicilies, to survive the abolition of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1860.

In 1910, Pope Pius X appointed the first of three successive cardinal protectors and, in 1913, approved a series of privileges for the chaplains of the order. In 1915, Pope Benedict XV dedicated the Constantinian chapel in the basilica of Santa Croce al Flaminio, which had been built with donations from the knights, who included Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII. In 1916, the pope restored the church of Saint Anthony Abbot to the Order - this church had originally been given to the Constantinian order along with the properties of the religious order of that name in 1777, but had been put under the direction of the archdiocese of Naples in 1861.

In 1919, new statutes received papal approval and Cardinal Ranuzzi de' Bianchi was appointed cardinal protector, the last to hold this post. Following the intervention of the grand magistry of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in 1924, whose grand master, the king of Italy, objected to the awarding of the order to leading Italian noblemen, the Holy See felt the close relationship with Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta might prove an obstacle to settling the Roman question. It was, therefore, decided not to reappoint a successor to Cardinal Ranuzzi de' Bianchi at his death in 1927.

Two Sicilies

Grades

Special Class (this category invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar **

Knight Grand Cross, Special Class

Justice

Bailiff Knight Grand Cross with Collar of Justice

Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice

Knight/Dame Grand Cross of Justice

Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Justice

Knight/Dame Commander of Justice (The rank of Commander was invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Commander of Grace (The rank of Commander was invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Grace, Special Class (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Grace (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Merit

Knight/Dame Grand Cross of Merit

Knight/Dame Grand Commander of Merit, Special Class (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Commander of Merit (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Merit, Special Class (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Grand Officer of Merit(a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Knight/Dame Commander (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Benemerenti Medal

Special Class (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

1st Class

2nd Class (a rank invented by the Order headed by the Duke of Castro)

Disputed succession

The succession to the grand magistry of this order has been disputed among as many as three branches of Bourbons since 1960. The dispute is rooted in different interpretations of the so-called "Act of Cannes" of 14 December 1900 in which the count of Caserta's second son, Prince Carlo (grandfather of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria), promised that he would renounce his succession to the crown of the Two Sicilies in execution of the "Pragmatic Decree" of 1759.[4] This decree required that if the king of Spain, or his immediate heir, should inherit the Two Sicilies crown, he would renounce the latter to the next in line. Whether the "Pragmatic Decree" applied to Prince Carlo's situation in 1900, and whether the grand magistry of the order was included in such a renunciation, are both issues in dispute.

Supporters of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria assert that his grandfather's renunciation was conditional on his actually inheriting both the Spanish and Two Sicilies crowns and/or that, even in that circumstances, such a renunciation did not include the position of grand master of the Constantinian order, which they regard as separate from the crown. A website of the so-called "Spanish" branch, headed by Infante Don Carlos, asserts that the renunciation was conditioned on facts that never arose, and that the order and the crown are governed by separate rules. Further, supporters of Infante Carlos argue that the "Act of Cannes" was legally defective and thus void. The Infante Don Carlos died on the 5 October 2015 and was succeeded by his only son, Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria. In a decree of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Introductor de Embjadores, 28 November 2014, the Ministry stated that along with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Royal Order of Saint Januarius (of which Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, is also Grand Master) "... la Sagrada y Militar Orden Constantiniana de San Jorge fueron tuteladas por la Corona de Espana o se hallan estrechamente vinculadas a su Historia, tal y como preve en este sentido el Ministerio de Defensa en su Instruccion General 06/12 sobre autorizacion de uso de recompensas civiles y militares."[5]. ("...the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, came under the protection of or were linked to the Crown and history of Spain, as set forth by the Ministry of Defence in its General Instruction 06/12, on permission to wear civil and military awards"). The status of the Constantinian Order was again defined in a statement by the Introductor de Embajadores, dated 2 June 2017 and issued in Spanish, French and English - the latter read: "...Hereby Certifies That the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Royal Order of Saint Januarius are officially recognized by Spain as Orders historically tied to the Crown of Spain, pursuant to the Ministry's Circular Order 4/2014 of 28 November. The use of the insignias of these two Orders is subject to the appropriate authorization, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as stipulated by the Royal Decree of 5 June 1916. signed by the Introducer of Ambassadors, Ambassador-Secretary of the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Order of Civil Merit." The Constantinian Order awarded by Prince Pedro is explicitly authorised to be worn by the governments of Italy and Mexico and citizens of the Netherlands have also been authorised to wear it. The United States Department of the Army has included the Order among those for which authorisation maybe given to wear the decorations on the official list of such awards, under Spain.

Supporters of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro reject all three positions advanced by Infante Carlos' supporters, and claim that the rival claimant's ancestor validly renounced both the crown of the Two Sicilies and the grand magistry.[6]

The Italian and Hungarian governments among others have authorised members of the Franco-Neapolitan branch, bestowed by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, to wear the insignia in Italy.[7]

In 2011, the Constantinian Order headed by the Duke of Castro, became one of the 3,536[8]

In 2011-12 some 600 organizations applied for consultative status. On average between 100 and 150 applications are recommended by the Committee in each of its two sessions per year non-governmental organizations to hold consultative status at the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations.[9]

Spaniards and Italians who have been granted the Constantinian Order by Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria have applied for, and received, authorisation to wear the decorations of the order.[10]

Each branch appoints a Roman Catholic cardinal as grand prior. On 16 October 2012, the Vatican Secretary of State renewed its position that the Holy See does not recognise any order except the seven Papal Orders listed on their statement. The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George was not one of those orders.[11]

This act appears to have ended the longstanding dynastic differences between the branches of the House of the Two Sicilies. The signing of the act of reconciliation was done in the presence of the Duchesses of Noto and Castro, the Duke of Noto's mother, the Duchess of Calabria, the Duke of Noto's sisters, Maria and Inés, and their husbands, Archduke Simeon and Michele Carrelli Palombi, their aunt, Princess Teresa, Marquesa de Laserma, the Duke of Castro's sister, Princess Napoleon, Prince Casimiro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his wife Princess Margherita, and the Duke of Braganza. Owing to his state of health, the Infante Don Carlos, Duke of Calabria was unable to attend the ceremony.

The Act states that the two branches will recognize each other's titles, and the titles of Duchess of Palerma and Duchess of Capri were awarded to the Duke and Duchess of Castro's two daughters. The final piece of the reconciliation is to work together to unite the Constantinian Order as well as the administrations of the Two Sicilies Orders of St. Januarius and Francis I.[12]

In May 2016 Prince Carlo unilaterally renounced the agreement and subsequently conferred the titles of Duchess of Calabria and Duchess of Noto on his daughters, declaring the former to be the heiress to the headship of the Royal House and the Constantinian Grand Mastership. This act has not been recognised by members of the branch descended from Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

^"Basic Facts about ECOSOC Status". United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, NGO Branch. csonet.org. Retrieved 13 November 2016. Currently 3,536 NGOs enjoy consultative status with ECOSOC ... as of November 2011....•

^"Note of Clarification from the Secretariat of State". news.va. Pontifical Council for Social Communication. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012. Vatican City (VIS) - In response to frequent requests for information concerning the recognition by the Holy See of Equestrian Orders dedicated to the saints or to holy places, the Secretariat of State considers it opportune to reiterate what has already been published, namely that, other than its own Equestrian Orders (the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Pian Order, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Pope Saint Sylvester), the Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta - and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Holy See foresees no additions or innovations in this regard. All other orders, whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See. Furthermore, the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures. To avoid any possible doubts, even owing to illicit issuing of documents or the inappropriate use of sacred places, and to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms that it attributes absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".

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